This is crap! City needs to respond

Sunday

Jan 13, 2013 at 7:19 PM

David Farr

Thankfully I didn’t wake up Friday to a basement filled with stinky, brown, sludgy water. But, several people on the north east side of Sturgis did. Apparently, a water-main break was the culprit. However, that’s not the only stink that happened.

Folks who made calls into the City were told it was just water with sand that backed up into their basements through toilets and drains. I bet if you were to ask those affected, they would tell you there was a lot more than water and sand floating in their basements.

I heard from several residents on the north east side Friday and over the weekend that are not happy with the City’s stance that it’s an “Act of God” and that the City is not responsible for the damage or necessary clean-up.

I, in fact, made one of those calls to the City office, in which was returned later that day. I was appalled by the words that came from a certain person’s mouth that shall remain nameless right now. She may have just been acting out of stress, but her demeanor was unjust and simply un-empathetic towards those who were experiencing this awful mess.

I was told that it was only sand and water that backed up before she let it slip, “ Well, it’s sewage diluted with water.”

Ummm, anyway you look at that it’s ‘Crap’! How can the City not be responsible for such a situation? I don’t care what Act from 2001 you bring up – It’s wrong!

One person told me that Friday evening she was presented with a claim form to fill out and that she was told to drink bottled water until the toxicology reports come back. I agree with that, however the person I spoke to Friday from the City said that it’s a mute point and that nothing will be paid.

Granted, some of these folks may have home insurance that helps pay for water back-up issues, but it may be just a small amount. And, some of these folks may not have that kind of coverage on their policies at all. Regardless of the homeowners situation, this incident derived from issues relating to pipes belonging to the City. I could understand that if it was only one home or the result of pipes to one home, but this spans an entire neighborhood – multiple homes.

I feel for these people as no one should want to wake up to such a mess. I don’t see this issue going away anytime soon, as it shouldn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if these folks band together and demand action from the City. I know, I would.